ORGANIZATION OF QUINTO-FRONTAL STRUCTURES IN HATCHLING RING DOVES (STREPTOPELIA-RISORIA)

Transganglionic and retrograde tracing procedures were applied to peri pheral and central trigeminal structures in hatchling ring doves. The organization of the trigeminal ganglion, its somatotopic projections u pon the principal sensory nucleus (PrV), and the projections of PrV up on the telencephalon are similar in adult and hatchling Columbiformes. The results suggest that development of feeding patterns in these spe cies involves experiential differentiation of trigeminal sensorimotor circuits present at hatching. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.